Movements and Area Use of Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in a Subarctic Alaskan Estuary

Seasonal movements of 14 belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska, were monitored by satellite telemetry between July and March in 2000–03. Whales used waters in the upper Cook Inlet intensively between summer and late autumn and dispersed to mid-inlet offshore waters during winter months. All whales remained in Cook Inlet the entire time they were tracked, and several whales were tracked through March. During summer and early fall, movements were clearly concentrated in specific areas, generally river mouths or bays, where whales were likely feeding on fish runs. Average daily travel distances ranged from 11 to 30 km per day. Monthly home ranges, estimated using the 95% kernel probability distribution of average daily positions, were smallest in August (982 km2), increased throughout autumn, and peaked in winter (reaching approximately 5000 km2). The seasonal variation in distribution and movement patterns displayed by belugas in Cook Inlet affect the sighting rates and seasonal abundance estimates obtained for this depleted population.Les déplacements saisonniers de 14 bélugas du détroit de Cook, en Alaska, ont fait l’objet d’une surveillance au moyen d’un émetteur par satellite entre les mois de juillet et mars 2000 à 2003. Cela a permis de remarquer que les baleines se tenaient beaucoup dans les eaux de la partie supérieure du détroit de Cook de l’été jusqu’à la fin de l’automne, mais qu’elles se dispersaient dans les eaux du large du milieu du détroit pendant les mois d’hiver. Toutes les baleines sont restées dans le détroit de Cook pendant toute la durée de surveillance, et plusieurs baleines ont été suivies jusqu’au mois de mars. L’été et au début de l’automne, les déplacements étaient nettement concentrés dans des endroits spécifiques, généralement dans les embouchures ou les baies, où les baleines se nourrissaient probablement de poissons. En moyenne, les baleines se déplaçaient sur des distances variant de 11 à 30 km par jour. C’est en août que le domaine vital mensuel, estimé par la méthode du noyau en fonction d’une densité de probabilité de 95 % des positions quotidiennes moyennes, était le plus petit (982 km2), après quoi il augmentait à l’automne et culminait l’hiver (où il atteignait environ 5 000 km2). La variation saisonnière caractérisant la répartition et les déplacements des bélugas dans le détroit de Cook exerce une influence sur le taux d’observations et sur les estimations d’abondance saisonnière obtenues pour cette population en déclin

Baffin Bay Narwhal Population Distribution and Numbers: Aerial Surveys in the Canadian High Arctic, 2002–04

Aerial surveys of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) were conducted in the Canadian High Arctic during the month of August from 2002 to 2004. The surveys covered the waters of Barrow Strait, Prince Regent Inlet, the Gulf of Boothia, Admiralty Inlet, Eclipse Sound, and the eastern coast of Baffin Island, using systematic sampling methods. Fiords were flown along a single transect down the middle. Near-surface population estimates increased by 1.9 %– 8.7% when corrected for perception bias. The estimates were further increased by a factor of approximately 3, to account for individuals not seen because they were diving when the survey plane flew over (availability bias). These corrections resulted in estimates of 27 656 (SE = 14 939) for the Prince Regent and Gulf of Boothia area, 20 225 (SE = 7285) for the Eclipse Sound area, and 10 073 (SE = 3123) for the East Baffin Island fiord area. The estimate for the Admiralty Inlet area was 5362 (SE = 2681) but is thought to be biased. Surveys could not be done in other known areas of occupation, such as the waters of the Cumberland Peninsula of East Baffin, and channels farther west of the areas surveyed (Peel Sound, Viscount Melville Sound, Smith Sound and Jones Sound, and other channels of the Canadian Arctic archipelago). Despite these probable biases and the incomplete coverage, results of these surveys show that the summering range of narwhals in the Canadian High Arctic is vast. If narwhals are philopatri to their summering areas, as they appear to be, the total population of that range could number more than 60 000 animals. The largest numbers are in the western portion of their summer range, around Somerset Island, and also in the Eclipse Sound area. However, these survey estimates have large variances due to narwhal aggregation in some parts of the surveyed areas.Des levés aériens ont été effectués dans l’Extrême arctique canadien dans le but de répertorier les populations de narvals (Monodon monoceros) et ce, du mois d’août 2002 à août 2004. Les levés, réalisés à l’aide de méthodes d’échantillonnage systémiques, visaient les eaux du détroit de Barrow, de l’inlet Prince-Régent, du golfe de Boothia, de l’inlet de l’Amirauté, du détroit d’Éclipse et de la côte est de l’île de Baffin. Les fiords ont été survolés le long d’un simple transect situé dans le milieu. Les estimations de population près de la surface augmentaient de 1,9 % à 8,7 % une fois redressées pour tenir compte du biais de perception. Par ailleurs, les estimations ont été de nouveau révisées à la hausse moyennant un facteur d’environ 3 afin de tenir compte des individus qui n’ont pas été vus parce qu’ils se mettaient à plonger en présence de l’avion effectuant les levés (biais de disponibilité). Ces redressements ont donné lieu à des estimations de 27 656 (SE = 14 939) pour la région de l’inlet Prince-Régent et du golfe de Boothia, de 20 225 (SE = 7 285) pour la région du détroit d’Éclipse et de 10 073 (SE = 3 123) pour la région du fiord de l’est de l’île de Baffin. Quand à l’inlet de l’Amirauté, l’estimation s’est chiffrée à 5 362 (SE = 2 681), mais l’on croit que cette estimation pourrait être biaisée. Des levés n’ont pas pu être effectués dans d’autres zones d’occupation connues, comme dans les eaux de la péninsule Cumberland dans l’est de Baffin de même que dans les chenaux plus à l’ouest des régions examinées (détroit de Peel, détroit du Vicomte de Melville, détroit de Smith, détroit de Jones et d’autres chenaux de l’archipel Arctique canadien). Malgré la possibilité que les données soient biaisées et que certaines zones n’aient pas été examinées, les résultats de ces levés montrent que la répartition d’été des narvals dans l’Extrême arctique canadien est vaste. Si les narvals sont philopatriques à leurs aires d’été, comme il semblerait être le cas, la population totale de ce parcours pourrait dépasser les 60 000 individus. Les plus grands nombres se trouvent dans la partie ouest de cette répartition, soit près de l’île Somerset et dans la région du détroit d’Éclipse. Cependant, les estimations découlant de ces levés ont de grandes variances en raison du regroupement des narvals dans certaines parties des régions visées par les levés

From Greenland to Canada in Ten Days: Tracks of Bowhead Whales, Balaena mysticetus, across Baffin Bay

Five bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) were instrumented with satellite transmitters in northwestern Disko Bay, West Greenland, in May 2001. Best results were obtained when tags were deployed with a pole rather than a pneumatic gun. At least three of the tagged whales remained in the northwestern part of the bay for one to two weeks after tagging. A male and a female whale moved from Disko Bay to northern Canada. They left Disko Bay 11 days apart and took different routes across Baffin Bay to the southern part of the North Water polynya, just east of the entrance to Lancaster Sound. The whales crossed the central part of Baffin Bay relatively rapidly (travel time of 9-10 days, 3.1 and 4.5 km/h). Dive behaviour of one whale was monitored and showed changes in dive depths, dive rates, and surfacing times in different localities, indicating behavioural changes probably related to feeding. The whales were presumably feeding in both Disko Bay in May and in the southern part of the North Water (southeast of Bylot Island) in June. This study confirms whalers' observations that bowhead whales move between West Greenland and the east coast of Baffin Island.En mai 2001, cinq baleines boréales (Balaena mysticetus) ont été équipées d'émetteurs spatiaux dans le nord-ouest de la baie de Disko (Groenland occidental). Les meilleurs résultats ont été obtenus lorsque les marqueurs ont été apposés avec une perche plutôt qu'avec un fusil à air comprimé. Au moins trois des baleines marquées sont restées dans la partie nord-ouest de la baie pendant une à deux semaines après le marquage. Deux individus, un mâle et une femelle, se sont déplacés de la baie de Disko au nord du Canada. Ils ont quitté la baie à 11 jours d'écart et ont emprunté des trajets différents pour traverser la baie de Baffin et rejoindre la partie méridionale de la polynie de l'Eau du Nord, située juste à l'est de l'entrée du détroit de Lancaster. Les baleines ont traversé la partie centrale de la baie de Baffin assez vite (en 9 et 10 jours, soit 3,1 et 4,5 km/h). On a suivi le comportement de plongée d'une baleine, qui a montré des changements dans la profondeur des plongées, leur fréquence et le temps en surface à divers endroits, révélant des modifications du comportement probablement associées au nourrissage. On suppose que les baleines s'alimentaient dans la baie de Disko en mai aussi bien que dans la partie méridionale de l'Eau du Nord (au sud-est de l'île Bylot) en juin. Cette étude confirme les observations des baleiniers à l'effet que les baleines boréales se déplacent entre l'ouest du Groenland et la côte est de l'île de Baffin

Mineral resource information in support of national, regional and local planning : Devon (comprising Devon, Plymouth, Torbay, Dartmoor National Park and part of Exmoor National Park)

This report is one of a series prepared by the British Geological Survey for various administrative areas in England for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s research project Mineral Resource Information in Support of National, Regional and Local Planning. The accompanying maps relate to the county of Devon and delineates the mineral resources of current, or potential, economic interest in the area and the sites where minerals are or have been worked. It also relates these to national planning designations, which may represent constraints on the extraction of minerals. Three major elements of information are presented: • the geological distribution and importance of mineral resources; • the extent of mineral planning permissions and the location of current mineral workings; and • the extent of selected, nationally-designated planning constraints. This wide range of information, much of which is scattered and not always available in a consistent and convenient form, is presented on two digitally-generated summary map on the scale of 1:100 000. This scale is convenient for the overall display of the data and allows for a legible topographic base on which to depict the information. However, all the data are held digitally at larger scales using a Geographical Information System (GIS), which allows easy revision, updating and customisation of the information together with its possible integration with other datasets. The information will form part of a Summary of the Mineral Resources of the South West Region. The purpose of the work is to assist all interested parties involved in the preparation and review of development plans, both in relation to the extraction of minerals and the protection of mineral resources from sterilisation. It provides a knowledge base, in a consistent format, on the nature and extent of mineral resources and the environmental constraints, which may affect their extraction. An important objective is to provide baseline data for the long term. The results may also provide a starting point for discussion on specific planning proposals for minerals extraction or on proposals, which may sterilise resources. It is anticipated that the map and report will also provide valuable background data for a much wider audience, including the different sectors of the minerals industry, other agencies and authorities (e.g. The Planning Inspectorate Agency, the Environment Agency, The Countryside Agency and English Nature), environmental interests and the general public. Basic mineral resource information is essential to support mineral exploration and development activities, for resource management and land-use planning, and to establish baseline data for environmental impact studies and environmental guidelines. It also enables a more sustainable pattern and standard of development to be achieved by valuing mineral resources as national assets. The mineral resources covered are sand and gravel, crushed rock aggregate, brick clay, kaolin, ball clay, building stones, hydrocarbons and metalliferous mineralisation

An accurate device for apparent emissivity characterisation in controlled atmospheric conditions up to 1423 K

Emissivity is a material property that must be measured before an accurate non-contact temperature measurement can be made. We have developed a novel instrument for measuring apparent emissivity under a controlled atmosphere, providing data for applications in radiation thermometry. Our instrument employs a split furnace, a sample-blackbody component, two custom designed radiometers and a controlled atmospheric system. We measure across the temperature range from 973 to 1423 K and spectral range from 0.85 to 1.1 lm; this range is matched to the majority of high temperature radiation thermometers. The sample and reference approximate-blackbody are heated and maintained in thermal equilibrium, with a temperature difference of better than 1 K at 1423 K. The combined standard uncertainty of the system is lower than 0.0590 (at k=2) over the whole temperature range. Apparent emissivity of type 304 stainless steel (SS304) was studied under different oxidising procedures. Nitrogen and compressed air were input into the system to control the oxidisation process. We elucidated the relationship between the apparent emissivity variations and the surface composition changes of SS304 during oxidisation. Our study aims towards accurate and traceable apparent emissivity data, with well investigated uncertainty, for use in radiation thermometry

Do the Unidentified EGRET Sources Trace Annihilating Dark Matter in the Local Group?

In a cold dark matter (CDM) framework of structure formation, the dark matter haloes around galaxies assemble through successive mergers with smaller haloes. This merging process is not completely efficient, and hundreds of surviving halo cores, or {\it subhaloes}, are expected to remain in orbit within the halo of a galaxy like the Milky Way. While the dozen visible satellites of the Milky Way may trace some of these subhaloes, the majority are currently undetected. A large number of high-velocity clouds (HVCs) of neutral hydrogen {\it are} observed around the Milky Way, and it is plausible that some of the HVCs may trace subhaloes undetected in the optical. Confirming the existence of concentrations of dark matter associated with even a few of the HVCs would represent a dramatic step forward in our attempts to understand the nature of dark matter. Supersymmetric (SUSY) extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics currently suggest neutralinos as a natural well-motivated candidate for the non-baryonic dark matter of the universe. If this is indeed the case, then it may be possible to detect dark matter indirectly as it annihilates into neutrinos, photons or positrons. In particular, the centres of subhaloes might show up as point sources in gamma-ray observations. In this work we consider the possibility that some of the unidentified EGRET $\gamma$-ray sources trace annihilating neutralino dark matter in the dark substructure of the Local Group. We compare the observed positions and fluxes of both the unidentified EGRET sources and the HVCs with the positions and fluxes predicted by a model of halo substructure, to determine to what extent any of these three populations could be associated.Comment: 12 Pages, 4 figures, to appear in a special issue of ApSS. Presented at "The Multiwavelength Approach to Unidentified Gamma-Ray Sources" (Hong Kong, June 1 - 4, 2004; Conference organizers: K.S. Cheng and G.E. Romero

The algebra of lexical semantics

Abstract. The current generative theory of the lexicon relies primar-ily on tools from formal language theory and mathematical logic. Here we describe how a different formal apparatus, taken from algebra and automata theory, resolves many of the known problems with the gener-ative lexicon. We develop a finite state theory of word meaning based on machines in the sense of Eilenberg [11], a formalism capable of de-scribing discrepancies between syntactic type (lexical category) and se-mantic type (number of arguments). This mechanism is compared both to the standard linguistic approaches and to the formalisms developed in AI/KR. 1 Problem Statement In developing a formal theory of lexicography our starting point will be the informal practice of lexicography, rather than the more immediately related for-mal theories of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Knowledge Representation (KR). Lexicography is a relatively mature field, with centuries of work experience an

Magnetic Field Generation in Stars

Enormous progress has been made on observing stellar magnetism in stars from the main sequence through to compact objects. Recent data have thrown into sharper relief the vexed question of the origin of stellar magnetic fields, which remains one of the main unanswered questions in astrophysics. In this chapter we review recent work in this area of research. In particular, we look at the fossil field hypothesis which links magnetism in compact stars to magnetism in main sequence and pre-main sequence stars and we consider why its feasibility has now been questioned particularly in the context of highly magnetic white dwarfs. We also review the fossil versus dynamo debate in the context of neutron stars and the roles played by key physical processes such as buoyancy, helicity, and superfluid turbulence,in the generation and stability of neutron star fields. Independent information on the internal magnetic field of neutron stars will come from future gravitational wave detections. Thus we maybe at the dawn of a new era of exciting discoveries in compact star magnetism driven by the opening of a new, non-electromagnetic observational window. We also review recent advances in the theory and computation of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence as it applies to stellar magnetism and dynamo theory. These advances offer insight into the action of stellar dynamos as well as processes whichcontrol the diffusive magnetic flux transport in stars.Comment: 41 pages, 7 figures. Invited review chapter on on magnetic field generation in stars to appear in Space Science Reviews, Springe